Sports

NKU to play UK, North Carolina in 2013-14

Northern Kentucky University will visit Rupp Arena on Nov. 10 to meet the University of Kentucky as part of the Norse’s 2013-14 men’s basketball schedule, head coach Dave Bezold announced Wednesday.

Northern Kentucky will also play perennial powerhouse North Carolina in 2013-14, meeting the Tar Heels on Dec. 27 in Chapel Hill, N.C.

It will mark the first time in program history Northern Kentucky has played either Kentucky or North Carolina in aregular-season game. The Norse met Kentucky in an exhibition game on Nov. 3, 2004, and the Wildcats posted a 91-73 victory in Rupp Arena.

“These are the two all-time winningest programs in college basketball history, and they are both on our schedule next season,” Northern Kentucky head coach Dave Bezold said. “My first game as head coach was that exhibition against Kentucky back in 2004, and that crowd in Rupp Arena was deafening. And that was just for an exhibition game. This time it’s for real, and (NKU assistant coach) Kevin Schappell is the one who landed all these non-conference games. He did a great job.”

Kentucky is No. 1 all-time with 2,111 victories, while North Carolina is No. 2 with 2,090 all-time wins.

Northern Kentucky begins the season Nov. 8 with a road game at Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Two days later, the Norse invade Rupp Arena to meet a Kentucky team that could be the nation’s top-ranked squad in the preseason polls. The Wildcats welcome in a recruiting class hailed as the nation’s best and return talented sophomores Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein.

The Norse open their home schedule Nov. 16, when San Diego visits The Bank of Kentucky Center. Three days later, Morehead State travels to Highland Heights to meet Northern Kentucky. It will be the first time since 1993 Morehead State and Northern Kentucky have played a regular-season game.

Northern Kentucky played San Diego last season in the Norse’s first-ever Division I game. The Toreros posted a 65-61 win over the Norse in that contest, which was played in San Diego.

The Norse will also travel to Mexico in late November to play in the Puerto Vallarta Tournament.

Florida Gulf Coast, which advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament, will visit The Bank of Kentucky Center on March 1 to battle the Norse in an Atlantic Sun Conference game. The Eagles are the defending A-Sun Tournament champions.

Northern Kentucky just completed its first season as a Division I program, and the Norse are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Norse posted a 9-9 record in Atlantic Sun Conference play and finished 11-16 overall against a schedule that featured Ohio State, San Francisco, Texas Tech, San Diego and Tulsa in non-conference play.